MotoGP Jerez: Hayden top Ducati in Spain

Ducati's Nicky Hayden finished as the top Ducati rider at Jerez in seventh place despite the American star suffering from pain in his right wrist.

Hayden experienced tendinitis during practice on Friday as his wrist unexpectedly became swollen in the wake of a minor operation in March.

He was on his own for much of the 27-lap race on the Desmosedici GP13 and although he was unaffected by his wrist problem in the first part of the race, Hayden found the going tough in the closing stages.

However, he held on to earn his best result of the season so far.

“The small tweaks we did to the bike this morning were improvements, and after I was fifth in the warm-up with a decent pace, I was confident for the race,” he said.

“My start was okay, but I lost the gap when [Stefan] Bradl crashed in front of me and I wasn't able to stay with [Alvaro] Bautista and [Cal] Crutchlow.

“Thanks to my physiotherapist, Alfredo Dente, and the Clinica Mobile, who helped me to race despite the problem with my wrist,” he added.

“With the adrenaline, the first 15 laps weren't much of a problem, but the last part wasn't much fun.

“It was our best weekend so far this season, so hopefully we can build on it.”